Golf balls are frequently lost during play because they are not readily visible and/or are difficult to reach or to get at (e.g., in a water hazard). A considerable variety of devices and machines have been proposed in the art for picking up balls and other objects from the ground, as typified by the inventions of the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Patentee ______________________________________ 2,365,540 M. E. Fonken 2,812,871 L. Woodall 3,136,573 R. J. Harke 3,215,293 J. T. Kelly et al 3,227,298 J. C. Shoemaker 3,306,480 H. G. Wysong 3,437,368 R. F. Anderson 3,604,190 J. B. Wray 3,784,037 L. Woodall 4,066,179 A. K. Livingston 4,318,654 D. Lee ______________________________________
Despite the activity indicated by the foregoing, a need remains for a device that is highly effective for retrieving golf balls, and which is nevertheless of uncomplicated and relatively inexpensive construction and is relatively facile to produce and easy to use.
Accordingly, it is the broad object of the present invention to provide a novel device for retrieving golf balls and the like, which is highly effective and convenient to employ, and which consists of only a few parts which are readily assembled, thereby rendering manufacture relatively facile and inexpensive.
Additional objects of the invention are to provide a device having the foregoing features and advantages, in which the operating discs are optimally supported, which is effective for retrieving golf balls despite an inability to see them, and which is durable and employs certain parts that are standard articles of commerce.